Bob McCarty Writes

(SAINT LOUIS) — This morning, this blogger visited two truck stops in the St. Louis area in an effort to follow up on two earlier posts and try to determine firsthand whether many independent owner-operators and professional truck drivers seems to be participating in a shutdown to protest high fuel costs and other factors making it nearly impossible for them to make a living. If my observations are accurate, the effort appears to be off to a slow start here.

The idea for a work stoppage grew out of a loosely-organized effort and is being called a shutdown — not a strike — by drivers like Dan Miller, the Carrollton, Mo.-based cattle hauler generally credited with launching the effort.

My first stop was a QuikTrip truck stop just off I-70 in St. Peters, Mo. (above), while my second stop was a few miles west on I-70 at the Travel Centers of America location in Foristell, Mo. (below).

Both locations were crowded with tractors and trailers, most of which were branded with corporate logos of one kind or another. It wasn’t until I spoke with a Crete Carrier Corp. company driver — who declined to give his name or allow himself to be photographed — that I learned the shutdown appears to have caught on with only a few drivers in this area.

When asked whether he had seen evidence of very many independent truckers participating in the shutdown, the CCC driver said he had only heard of a handful. When asked why he thought participation levels were low, he had little to offer. He wasn’t shy, however, when it came to expressing his support for owner-operators: “They’re going broke!” he said.

It may be too early to tell how many truckers nationwide are participating in the effort.

While my observation — and that of the CCC driver — runs counter to some news accounts (click here and here), it dovetails with others (click here and a here).

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See also:

Truck Shutdown Deemed ‘100 percent successful’ (4-02-08)

How Will the Trucking Shutdown Impact You? (3-31-08)

No Joke: Truckers to ‘Shut Down’ April 1 (3-28-08)